661 research outputs found
Contraction of general transportation costs along solutions to Fokker-Planck equations with monotone drifts
We shall prove new contraction properties of general transportation costs along nonnegative measure-valued solutions to Fokker-Planck equations in Rd, when the drift is a monotone (or lambda-monotone) operator. A new duality approach to contraction estimates has been developed: it relies on the Kantorovich dual formulation of optimal transportation problems and on a variable-doubling technique. The latter is used to derive a new comparison property of solutions of the backward Kolmogorov (or dual) equation. The advantage of this technique is twofold: it directly applies to distributional solutions without requiring stronger regularity and it extends the Wasserstein theory of Fokker-Planck equations with gradient drift terms started by Jordan-Kinderlehrer-Otto [14] to more general costs and monotone drifts, without requiring the drift to be a gradient and without assuming any growth conditions
Platinum(II)-Acyclovir Complexes: Synthesis, Antiviral and Antitumour Activity
A platinum(II) complex with the antiviral drug acyclovir was synthesized and its
antiviral and anticancer properties were investigated in comparison to those of acyclovir and
cisplatin. The platinum-acyclovir complex maintained the antiviral activity of the parent
drug acyclovir, though showing a minor efficacy on a molar basis (ID50  =   7.85 and 1.02 μΜ for platinum-acyclovir and cisplatin, respectively). As anticancer agent, the platinum-acyclovir
complex was markedly less potent than cisplatin on a mole-equivalent basis, but it
was as effective as cisplatin when equitoxic dosages were administered in vivo to P388
leukaemia-bearing mice (%T/C = 209 and 211 for platinum-acyclovir and cisplatin,
respectively). The platinum-acyclovir complex was also active against a cisplatin-resistant
subline of the P388 leukaemia (%T/C = 140), thus suggesting a different mechanism of
action. The DNA interaction properties (sequence specificity and interstrand cross-linking
ability) of platinum-acyclovir were also investigated in comparison to those of cisplatin and
[Pt(dien)Cl]+, an antitumour-inactive platinum-triamine compound. The results of this study
point to a potential new drug endowed, at the same time, with antiviral and anticancer
activity and characterized by DNA interaction properties different from those of cisplatin
Role of Metal Ions and Hydrogen Bond Acceptors in the Tautomeric Equilibrium of Nitro-9[(Alkylamino)Amino]-Acridine Drugs
3-nitro-9-[2-(dialkylamino)ethyl)]aminoacridines (alkyl = methyl or ethyl) have been used as ligands
towards platinum(If). The end product is a complex in which the acridine acts as a tridentate ligand
contributing the two exocyclic nitrogen atoms and one of the two peri carbons. The metallation takes place
predominantly at the peri position of the unsubstituted ring. The coordinated acridine is in the imino
tautomeric form although, in the free state, it occurs exclusively in the amino form (both in the solid state and
in solution). The imino tautomer is considered to be the biologically active form. In the platinated species the
N(10)H of the acridine can be involved in strong hydrogen bonding with a chloride ion leading to formation
of an association complex, the formation constant has been found to be 1.4±103 M−1. The N(10)H┄CI
interaction can influence the tautomeric equilibrium of the acridine dye also in the uncoordinated species,
however, the shift in favor of the imino tautomer is not complete
Engineering Cu2O Nanowire Surfaces for Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Evolution Reaction
Cu2O is a narrow band gap material serving as an important candidate for photoelectrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction. However, the main challenge that hinders its practical exploitation is its poor photostability, due to its oxidation into CuO by photoexcited holes. Here, we thoroughly minimize the photo-oxidation of Cu2O nanowires by growing a thin layer of the TiO2 protective layer and an amorphous layer of the VOx cocatalyst using magnetron sputtering and atomic layer deposition, respectively. After optimization of the protective and the cocatalyst layers, the photoelectrode exhibits a current density of -2.46 mA/cm2 under simulated sunlight (100 mW/cm2) at 0.3 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode, and its performance is stable for an extended illumination time. The chemical stability and the good performance of the engineered photoelectrode demonstrate the potential of using earth-abundant materials as a light-harvesting device for solar hydrogen production
Platinum(IV) complexes of trans-1,2-diamino-4-cyclohexene: Prodrugs affording an oxaliplatin analogue that overcomes cancer resistance
Six platinum(IV) compounds derived from an oxaliplatin analogue containing the unsaturated cyclic diamine trans-1,2-diamino-4-cyclohexene (DACHEX), in place of the 1,2-diaminocyclohexane, and a range of axial ligands, were synthesized and characterized. The derivatives with at least one axial chlorido ligand demonstrated solvent-assisted photoreduction. The electrochemical redox behavior was investigated by cyclic voltammetry; all compounds showed reduction potentials suitable for activation in vivo. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) data indicated an X-ray-induced surface reduction of the Pt(IV) substrates, which correlates with the reduction potentials measured by cyclic voltammetry. The cytotoxic activity was assessed in vitro on a panel of human cancer cell lines, also including oxaliplatin-resistant cancer cells, and compared with that of the reference compounds cisplatin and oxaliplatin; all IC50 values were remarkably lower than those elicited by cisplatin and somewhat lower than those of oxaliplatin. Compared to the other Pt(IV) compounds of the series, the bis-benzoate derivative was by far (5–8 times) the most cytotoxic showing that low reduction potential and high lipophilicity are essential for good cytotoxicity. Interestingly, all the complexes proved to be more active than cisplatin and oxaliplatin even in three-dimensional spheroids of A431 human cervical cancer cells
New oxaliplatin-pyrophosphato analogs with improved in vitro cytotoxicity
Two new Pt(II)-pyrophosphato complexes containing the carrier ligands cis-1,3- diaminocyclohexane (cis-1,3-DACH) and trans-1,2-diamine-4-cyclohexene (1,2-DACHEX), variants of the 1R,2R-diaminocyclohexane ligand present in the clinically used Pt-drug oxaliplatin, have been synthesized with the aim of developing new potential antitumor drugs with high bone tropism. The complexes are more stable at physiological pH than in acid conditions, with Na2[Pt(pyrophosphato)(cis-1,3-DACH)] (1) slightly more stable than Pt(dihydrogenpyrophosphato)(1,2-DACHEX)] (2). The greater reactivity at acidic pH ensures a greater efficacy at the tumor site. Preliminary NMR studies indicate that 1 and 2 react slowly with 5’-GMP (used as a model of nucleic acids), releasing the pyrophosphate ligand and affording the bis 5’-GMP adduct. In vitro cytotoxicity assays performed against a panel of four human cancer cell lines have shown that both compounds are more active than oxaliplatin. Flow cytometry studies on HCT116 cells showed that the pyrophosphato compounds with the non-classical 1,3- and 1,4- diaminocyclohexane ligands (1 and 4) are the most capable to induce cells’ death by apoptosis and necrosis
A Wasserstein approach to the one-dimensional sticky particle system
We present a simple approach to study the one-dimensional pressureless Euler
system via adhesion dynamics in the Wasserstein space of probability measures
with finite quadratic moments.
Starting from a discrete system of a finite number of "sticky" particles, we
obtain new explicit estimates of the solution in terms of the initial mass and
momentum and we are able to construct an evolution semigroup in a
measure-theoretic phase space, allowing mass distributions with finite
quadratic moment and corresponding L^2-velocity fields. We investigate various
interesting properties of this semigroup, in particular its link with the
gradient flow of the (opposite) squared Wasserstein distance.
Our arguments rely on an equivalent formulation of the evolution as a
gradient flow in the convex cone of nondecreasing functions in the Hilbert
space L^2(0,1), which corresponds to the Lagrangian system of coordinates given
by the canonical monotone rearrangement of the measures.Comment: Added reference
Hierarchically Porous Gd3+-Doped CeO2 Nanostructures for the Remarkable Enhancement of Optical and Magnetic Properties
Rare earth ion-doped CeO2 has attracted more and more attention because of its special electrical, optical, magnetic, or catalytic properties. In this paper, a facile electrochemical deposition route was reported for the direct growth of the porous Gd-doped CeO2. The formation process of Gd-doped CeO2 composites was investigated. The obtained deposits were characterized by SEM, EDS, XRD, and XPS. The porous Gd3+- doped CeO2 (10 at% Gd) displays a typical type I adsorption isotherm and yields a large specific surface area of 135 m2/g. As Gd3+ ions were doped into CeO2 lattice, the absorption spectrum of Gd3+-doped CeO2 nanocrystals exhibited a red shift compared with porous CeO2 nanocrystals and bulk CeO2, and the luminescence of Gd3+-doped CeO2 deposits was remarkably enhanced due to the presence of more oxygen vacancies. In addition, the strong magnetic properties of Gd-doped CeO2 (10 at% Gd) were observed, which may be caused by Gd3+ ions or more oxygen defects in deposits. In addition, the catalytic activity of porous Gd-doped CeO2 toward CO oxidation was studied
Ruthenium polypyridyl complexes and their modes of interaction with DNA : is there a correlation between these interactions and the antitumor activity of the compounds?
Various interaction modes between a group of six ruthenium polypyridyl complexes and DNA have been studied using a number of spectroscopic techniques. Five mononuclear species were selected with formula [Ru(tpy) L1L2](2-n)?, and one closely related dinuclear cation of formula [{Ru(apy)(tpy)}2{l-H2N(CH2)6NH2}]4?. The ligand tpy is 2,20:60,200-terpyridine and the ligand L1 is a bidentate ligand, namely, apy (2,20-azobispyridine), 2-phenylazopyridine, or 2-phenylpyridinylmethylene amine. The ligand L2 is a labile monodentate ligand, being Cl-, H2O, or CH3CN. All six species containing a labile L2 were found to be able to coordinate to the DNA model base 9-ethylguanine by 1H NMR and mass spectrometry. The dinuclear cationic species, which has no positions available for coordination to a DNA base, was studied for comparison purposes. The interactions between a selection of four representative complexes and calf-thymus DNA were studied by circular and linear dichroism. To explore a possible relation between DNA-binding ability and toxicity, all compounds were screened for anticancer activity in a variety of cancer cell lines, showing in some cases an activity which is comparable to that of cisplatin. Comparison of the details of the compound structures, their DNA binding, and their toxicity allows the exploration of structure–activity relationships that might be used to guide optimization of the activity of agents of this class of compounds
Copper-Triggered Aggregation of Ubiquitin
Neurodegenerative disorders share common features comprising aggregation of misfolded proteins, failure of the ubiquitin-proteasome system, and increased levels of metal ions in the brain. Protein aggregates within affected cells often contain ubiquitin, however no report has focused on the aggregation propensity of this protein. Recently it was shown that copper, differently from zinc, nickel, aluminum, or cadmium, compromises ubiquitin stability and binds to the N-terminus with 0.1 micromolar affinity. This paper addresses the role of copper upon ubiquitin aggregation. In water, incubation with Cu(II) leads to formation of spherical particles that can progress from dimers to larger conglomerates. These spherical oligomers are SDS-resistant and are destroyed upon Cu(II) chelation or reduction to Cu(I). In water/trifluoroethanol (80∶20, v/v), a mimic of the local decrease in dielectric constant experienced in proximity to a membrane surface, ubiquitin incubation with Cu(II) causes time-dependent changes in circular dichroism and Fourier-transform infrared spectra, indicative of increasing β-sheet content. Analysis by atomic force and transmission electron microscopy reveals, in the given order, formation of spherical particles consistent with the size of early oligomers detected by gel electrophoresis, clustering of these particles in straight and curved chains, formation of ring structures, growth of trigonal branches from the rings, coalescence of the trigonal branched structures in a network. Notably, none of these ubiquitin aggregates was positive to tests for amyloid and Cu(II) chelation or reduction produced aggregate disassembly. The early formed Cu(II)-stabilized spherical oligomers, when reconstituted in 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) liposomes and in POPC planar bilayers, form annular and pore-like structures, respectively, which are common to several neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and prion diseases, and have been proposed to be the primary toxic species. Susceptibility to aggregation of ubiquitin, as it emerges from the present study, may represent a potential risk factor for disease onset or progression while cells attempt to tag and process toxic substrates
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